Fox News “news coverage” of Jackson’s death includes full-length music videos without news

posted at 9:00 pm on June 25, 2009 by Allahpundit

If I hadn’t seen the clip myself, I wouldn’t have believed Ace’s post. The most charitable spin I can put on this is that Shep might have needed to sneak a bathroom break. Although even then, three minutes of commercials would have been more dignified.

It’s going to be a long, long week, kids. And if you think the media coverage is maudlin and insufferable now, just wait. This is the calm before the storm.

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I’m a conservative democrat who watches a lot of FOX NEWS. At 6:00pm EDT I go to watch Bret Baier To hear about CAP AND TRADE bill,HEATHCARE REFORM,and maybe some coverage of Obama speaking about a possible amnesty this year instead I get coverage of this freak show,a pedophile in my opinion who should be in jail. I’m sorry for his families loss but I have little regard for this man or his music and I was a teen during the eighties. Sorry folks but I want to know about pieces of legislation that could raise my energy costs,restrict healthcare and reward people who broke into my country with legislation that will make them and their relatives through chain migration citizens.

BTW, it is sad that Jackson, Fawcett, and McMahon passed away. (I’ve always thought Michael’s life in particular turned out quite sad despite his success.) However, the relentless media coverage of celebrity here is way over the top.

Oh, how I’d LOVE to hear what Michael Savage is saying right now. Problem is, the only station that carries him here is a Fox affiliate and is giving (in their words) “continuing coverage” OF A CORPSE.

Bigfoot
Sir Georg Solti died around the same time as Di too.
When I was in high school I wrote a letter to Maestro Solti that he not only personally answered but he mailed it from the CSO’s London office. It’s not every day that a h.s. freshman gets a letter from someone of his stature via air mail.
When he died I sent a card to Orchestra Hall mentioning the letter and in response got a hand-addressed anything but mass produced card.
Even in death the man had class!

We have a CRAP AND TRADE vote coming up tomorrow. Does anyone really think that Michael Jackson or Farrah Fawcett gave a crap about what real people were going to vote for with regard to all the sh$t that’s coming at us? Why are their deaths so important? Fox really disappointed me this afternoon. I had to turn the channel. On every channel that carries news, it’s like there is no news. It’s all about Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett. Guess what, people? If you had died today, do you think anyone would give a crap about it? Or do you think that the media would carry it like it was important? I’m sorry they’re dead. But it happens to us all at some point in time. Enough is enough. There is no such thing as News any longer. It’s what’s the most sensationalistic story at the moment no matter how unimportant it is and drive it into the ground. There are too many votes coming before our congress right now and too many very important things, such as healthcare and energy bills that are going to affect us, that we’re all going to get screwed on by Congress and the Obama. Get a grip, people. I knew a couple of just regular Americans that died this week, but the media didn’t cover their deaths. Why are they so much less important than the so-called celebrities that died this week. I’m not saying don’t report the story, but, my goodness, do you have to run it into the ground? Talking about beating a dead horse, the so-called news media just buried it.

Hey Dave, I’m not trying to start a war or anything, but there are a lot of abused children that do not have questionable relationships with little kids. Abuse, however horrible is no excuse for his later actions.

TXMomof3 on June 25, 2009 at 10:09 PM

First of all, no… very few people have Michael Jackson’s childhood.

He was accused of abuse by the child of a clearly insane, manipulative woman who was regularly laughed at in the court room, and by a security guard who had a bad history with Jackson and who couldn’t even keep his own story straight. Countless other kids said that they used to go to his sleepovers and that there was nothing sexual about it at all.

Is he a “freakshow”? Damn straight, but we’re talking about a guy who lived on a “Neverland Ranch” and who was described by a psychologist (working on behalf of an accuser, no less) as a “regressed 10 year old who doesn’t fit the profile of a child molester.”

I think he’s just an easy target for people who think they can squeeze money out of him (hell, he had kids sleeping in his bed… should be an easy few million if you’re so inclined, no?), and he’s easy for people (like many in this thread) to talk trash about as a means of feeling better about themselves somehow.

Sorry, a superfluous comma distracted from the fact that I was judging people on this thread. Interestingly, its always the same handful of people who come across as inhuman a–holes after someone dies (or gets brain cancer, as was the case with Ted Kennedy).

Sorry, a superfluous comma distracted from the fact that I was judging people on this thread.

Ah, I see your meaning now.

Interestingly, its always the same handful of people who come across as inhuman a–holes after someone dies (or gets brain cancer, as was the case with Ted Kennedy).

DaveS on June 25, 2009 at 10:27 PM

So? Let ‘em. I have nothing against Jackson – never met the man. Never liked his music either. I just resent what this country has devolved to, that we have to have wall to wall coverage of his – or any celebrity’s – death.

I can still remember driving home from work a few years ago when this same local Fox radio station broke into programming with their big, dramatic music stinger and intoned, “Fox breaking news alert: Anna Nicole Smith is dead.”

I, too, feel badly for Farrah not getting the coverage she deserves. I am truly sad for her passing. She seemed to have found the Lord in her last days.

-Aslan’s Girl

If that is the case then she doesn’t give a whit about what is going on in this world, she is absent from the body & face-to-face with the Lord- no more sorrow, no more pain, no more tears, no more death. I sure hope so, how did you hear about this if you don’t mind my asking?

I’m a conservative democrat who watches a lot of FOX NEWS. At 6:00pm EDT I go to watch Bret Baier To hear about CAP AND TRADE bill,HEATHCARE REFORM,and maybe some coverage of Obama speaking about a possible amnesty this year instead I get coverage of this freak show,a pedophile in my opinion who should be in jail. I’m sorry for his families loss but I have little regard for this man or his music and I was a teen during the eighties. Sorry folks but I want to know about pieces of legislation that could raise my energy costs,restrict healthcare and reward people who broke into my country with legislation that will make them and their relatives through chain migration citizens.

PTN 39 on June 25, 2009 at 10:14 PM

You’re a WHAT!!??…It’s YOUR party destroying us!!!
Conservative Democrat is like a Christian Democrat..
Neither are possible!

I just resent what this country has devolved to, that we have to have wall to wall coverage of his – or any celebrity’s – death … Fox breaking news alert: Anna Nicole Smith is dead.”

I mean, really. You know?

I know… Anna Nicole coverage was pure ratings-0driven sensationalism. Michael Jackson is actually an iconic figure who deserves it. He isn’t “any celebrity” and he certainly isn’t Anna Nicole. He’s the Elvis of the generation that is now 30-somethings and younger.

There is that whole concept of not speaking ill of the dead. If you can’t say anyting good, don’t say anything at all.

The one thing that is beyond question with Michael Jackson is that he was an amazing talent. RIP.

EconomicNeocon on June 25, 2009 at 9:18 PM

+10

However, I must say that Shepherd Smith is just getting harder to watch. I can only tolerate him for short bursts of time because he has become insufferably pompous. He no longer reports the news but gives his opinions instead (he seems to be wrong often when it comes to facts).

You know, some of us are concerned that they are voting on a 1200 page tax tomorrow, are concerned about the continuing violence in Iran, the rhetoric coming from Lil’ Kim, socialized medicine, and an economy that is still swirling in the tank.

Maybe the non-stop Mark Sanford and Michael Jackson coverage is too distracting to things that matter to us adults.

You know, some of us are concerned that they are voting on a 1200 page tax tomorrow, are concerned about the continuing violence in Iran, the rhetoric coming from Lil’ Kim, socialized medicine, and an economy that is still swirling in the tank.

Maybe the non-stop Mark Sanford and Michael Jackson coverage is too distracting to things that matter to us adults.

We’ll just have to disagree on it. You’ll not see it this way, but to me, coverage like this is grotesque because it says this person’s (whoever) life/death is so important that you MUST stop what you’re doing and LOOK AT IT. Sorry, I don’t do that, even when it’s someone I appreciate (the passing of Harry Secombe back in the ’90s comes to mind). And I resent others (not you, necessarily) telling me I’m abnormal for not putting on a black arm band because someone who sang/danced/pretended to be other people did it well enough to be rich.

Re original post, I watched ABC World News Tonight (I know, it was terrible) and they basically did the same thing. NBC showed long clips from Thriller and BBC just talked about Michael while helicopter cameras filmed hospital.

After listening (and changing the channel) to Shep and Geraldo talking about Jackson, i.e. “transparent, like you could almost see bones through him if light was behind him” and then actually called him a vampire.
Total silence instead of commentary would have been appreciated after their garbage.

Where the hell is the news media??? Michael Jakson dies and it is a bigger story than the brave protesters in Iran! Farah Fawcette died , Ed McMhan died, is there meaning in all of this? God knows we are all going to die but to treat MJ as if he were a person to look up to? Where are the children who were molested by this wacko?
Media my ass!

As someone who is moderate, who is a RINO, who votes for the Democratic a third of the time, I just want to say that it’s really a shame that our nation didn’t execute Walter Conkrite for treason back in the 1970′s. Conkrite did everything he could to aid people who would have like to destroy our government–though they weren’t close to doing so. What the people Conkrite aided did do was to bring gulags and petty coercion to several countries with Conkrite’s active connivance. Conkrite’s grave should be pissed on.

If my statements sound extreme, and I’m not an extreme person, I invite you consider that victims of the regimes that Conkrite aided. Start with the Killing Fields of Cambodia. Perhaps, I’m no longer so extreme.

Ain’t that the truth. But if some rich guy buys them and is a fan he’ll lock them up in a vault somewhere…like the JFK-Monroe film. But, why anybody would want to see an autopsy pic, much less pay a lot of money for it is beyond me.

Also, I was wondering if his ‘entourage’ can file for unemployment, or possibly some kind of Federal stimulus money?

Anybody need some big dude to hold an umbrella over you to keep the sun off?

For all the bashing here Michael Jackson was a pop icon for a whole generation…regardless of his later behavior you can not deny that Thriller was the single biggest selling album in history. Is the coverage over the top yes a bit but think if we would have had all news type stations when Buddy Holly died, or Elvis or even when John Lennon was shot..it is just a sign of the times just like the internet

“Why did he settle out of court if he was innocent? If it were my reputation on the line and I didn’t do anything wrong, the last thing I would do is settle out of court, basically admitting guilt…Riddle me that one.”

It’s called hedging. While Jacko was probably guilty as sin, some defendents in the more egregious ritual abuse cases of the 80′s and 90′s were offered extreme plea deals: plead guilty and get 6 months, or go to trial and get life if you lose.

why the hate for fox.. CNN was doing this as well, for instance they played the dance intro to thriller..

triple on June 25, 2009 at 11:04 PM

Because people expect a bit more from Fox.

Jeff from WI on June 25, 2009 at 11:06 PM

Why do you expect more from FOX? You haven’t been watching these twits long enough obviously! I quit them years ago and my life is fine! They are no different than the rest!

The media sucks! All of them…all the time!

Michael Jackson? Sorry he died but he was absolutely a freak who probably molested children! Just look at the pictures of him! And don’t give us the “victim” crap! The guy was loaded! He could have lived a normal useful life but chose to live as a creep!

Even without the molestation charges, Michael Jackson was a pervert. His overtly sexual dance moves and lyrics (Keep it in the Closet comes to mind) added to the worsening of our culture. His being a superstar made his vulgarity that much worse for our society. Early Michael was brilliant, but the Michael of the last 20+ years (starting with the crotch grabs) was anything but.

This is why the wall-to-wall coverage, esp. on Fox, is so disgusting to me. The media is lifting him up as a sort of god, when even without his legal controversies, he was not a role model. If he was all goodness and light it would still be too much coverage obviously, but at least then our country would be remebering a good and healthy role model. Jackson was not.

“When I was 10, for some odd reason, I went to Studio 54 with Michael Jackson and a bunch of people and I had no idea who he was and I saw him dance and I was like, Oh, that guy is a really good dancer.”

Later, he tantalizingly added: “Why I was at Studio 54 is a whole other story…

kanda, Sean Hannity, Beck, Greta… discuss news topics with great analytical insight with their guests. They were sorely missed by me today. Sean would’ve discussed crap-n-trade, I’m sure of it. I even missed O’Reilly tonight. And it wasn’t just Fox’s pundits who got the shaft tonight, they even threw out their flagship evening news program “Special Report”, which meant no Krauthammer (at least, I know the first ten minutes was spent with Brett interviewing Greta and it looked like that was the whole show… I changed the channel about then so I can’t swear to no other coverage, but from reports here, I’m pretty sure everything else got thrown out tonight). No news from Iran, no news on cap-n-trade, in other words, no NEWS.

No, my mistake..he was the…sniff..fat 50 year old graying hippie that looked 90 from all the drugs….sniff..sniff…

Jeff from WI on June 26, 2009 at 7:26 AM

Now, now. Thats no way to talk about Rush.

dcwvu on June 26, 2009 at 7:34 AM

LOL…No, not Rush. He’s lost some weight, I heard, he’s certainly ALIVE making millions in Florida, soaking up the sun. I don’t think he was ever a hippie, seems to intelligent for that, but I could be wrong.

kanda, Sean Hannity, Beck, Greta… discuss news topics with great analytical insight with their guests. They were sorely missed by me today. Sean would’ve discussed crap-n-trade, I’m sure of it. I even missed O’Reilly tonight. And it wasn’t just Fox’s pundits who got the shaft tonight, they even threw out their flagship evening news program “Special Report”, which meant no Krauthammer (at least, I know the first ten minutes was spent with Brett interviewing Greta and it looked like that was the whole show… I changed the channel about then so I can’t swear to no other coverage, but from reports here, I’m pretty sure everything else got thrown out tonight). No news from Iran, no news on cap-n-trade, in other words, no NEWS.

A disgrace.

-Aslan’s Girl

Aslans Girl on June 26, 2009 at 7:40 AM

You miss my point. My point is those you mentioned have more in common with Michael Jackson than they do with Walter Cornkite. All of them are entertainers not newspersons.

You discuss news topics also but you are not a newsperson.

Michael Jackson is news…Big News. Very Big News. Like it or not he was the news last night.

And there was other news throughout the night but the majority of the evening was about Michael Jackson. It was a nice break from the doom and gloom reporting on all the cable news channels of the past 5 months don’t you agree?

And there was other news throughout the night but the majority of the evening was about Michael Jackson. It was a nice break from the doom and gloom reporting on all the cable news channels of the past 5 months don’t you agree?

kanda on June 26, 2009 at 7:49 AM

I guess I have to agree. Coverage of the death of a “man” that allegedly attacked children is a nice break from Lord High Obama destroying this country.

Uh, no. I like the cold hard truth in my news, not silly nonsenseical FLUFF about a man who was a terrible role model, very possibly molested children, and was otherwise a freak. He has NO bearing on the REAL world, which is the world that I inhabit. We needed Sean, et al today because they would’ve been encouraging viewers to call their reps and senators to vote NO on crap-n-trade. But, if you prefer hiding your head in the sand…

One other point wrt Fox’s coverage… Fox’s audience is conservative and conservatives generally don’t like “entertainers” who grab their crotch, sing highly suggestive lyrics, and might have molested children. We’re funny that way. In other words,Fox completely misjudged their loyal audience tonight with all the crap they shoved at us. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find that tonight their ratings tanked. I know I kept away for the most part and watched other programming.

And, again, Fox’s evening news show, “Special Report” which is not hosted by a pundit, got the shaft tonight, too.

Walter Cronkite is no one to be lifting up as any sort of journalist, by the way.

-Aslan’s Girl

Aslans Girl on June 26, 2009 at 7:58 AM

You are entitled to that opinion. I was using it for comparison you your idols on fox. Walter was conceited jerk for causing my war to be lost but he was a great newsman regardless of the fact I hate his guts.